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Date: Tue Dec 12 18:45:59 1995
Subject: India has big role to play : Suu Kyi
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>From : FTUB (WB) <burtu.atubdo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject : India has big role to play : Suu Kyi
 
India has big role to play : Suu Kyi
The Hindustan Times, New Delhi. Tuesday Dec. 12 1995.
 
Yangon, Dec 11 (UNI) : National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu 
Kyi feels India has a big role to play in facilitating the return of democracy in 
Myanmar.
 
Speaking to newsmen here Nobel Prize winner Suu Kyi said "though I 
understand Government of India's difficulty in this regard, we like India to do 
whatever possible for restoring democracy here." Ms Suu Kyi also conveyed 
for gratitude to the Indian for selecting her for the Nehru memorial award. 
"It was indeed great that people of India recognized our movement for 
democracy through this," she said.
 
Ms Suu Kyi who was released from six years of house arrest in July last 
intimated that in her fight for democracy, she always drew a lot of inspiration 
from the great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Nelson 
Mandela. "My father had a very personal relation with Pandit Nehru," 
she added.
 
Ms Suu Kyi said the government in Myanmar had good relations with both 
India and China. However she would not be surprised if China did not support 
them, Ms Suu Kyi said and added that the United States was very supportive 
of their struggle.
 
Ms Suu Kyi, pulled her organization National League for Democracy party 
(NLD) out of a convention which was organized by the military government 
to draw guidelines for a new constitution. She said her party came out of the 
convention as the proceedings there were not democratic.
 
Ms Suu Kyi made repeated attempts for talks with the present military rulers 
but they were yet to show any willingness for a dialogue with NLD.
 
Regarding their non-participation in national convention, Ms Suu Kyi said 
people here liked national convention but they did not like to be deceived. 
In national convention all the papers were censored. People were not allowed 
to speak. It was the military people who had all the rights to take actions 
against anyone they like.
 
She said that 85 per cent of all the delegations of national conventions were 
not elected but chosen. Out of the total 702 members only fifteen were 
elected, she added.
 
Ms Suu Kyi said that we need national reconciliation. But only way it could 
be achieved was through talks.
 
Commenting on the present economy of Myanmar, one of the underdeveloped 
countries in Asia, Ms Suu Kyi said "it's not an open economy. Everything is 
in a shamble here. It's open to certain classes of people, not to all. Only 
democracy would give equal opportunity to those capable to add to the reform 
of economy."
 
Regarding foreign investment, she said there should be a balance between 
foreign investment and the local one. She was not against foreign investment, 
but the policy should be right and sensible one. At present the gap between the 
poor and the rich here was huge, she said.
 
Citing example she mentioned that a number of big hotels were coming up in 
Myanmar now. While the local people get only menial jobs in these projects, 
management and rest of the work were done by foreigners.
 
To a question about her party's role towards the present government's decision 
to observe 1996 as a visit Myanmar year, Ms Suu Kyi said, we have not 
decided anything about it. It's too early to decide anything now, she said.
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